Addiction
by AccordingToMel
Summary: Hodgins can’t help but feel a sense of relief at the fact that they can do this now…be comfortable and make jokes and have fun without the tension that existed not too long ago. It makes him feel happy. And he hasn’t been happy in a long time. Cam/Hodgins


**Title**: Addiction

**Author**: AccordingToMel

**Summary**: The comment is made in jest, and Hodgins can't help but feel a sense of relief at the fact that they can do this now…be comfortable and make jokes and have fun without the tension that existed not too long ago. It makes him feel happy. And he hasn't been happy in a long time.

**Characters/pairings:** Hodgins, Cam, Zack, Sweets; Cam/Hodgins

**Rating**: T (PG-13)

**Spoilers**: General season 4, but "The Bone that Blew" in particular

**Word Count**: 3,216

**Disclaimer**: I do not own. I cannot afford. I am poor.

**Author's note**: So this is my first Cam/Hodgins fic. I am so in love with these two right now. I welcome constructive criticism so I can improve on my writing and characterization. This fic starts in the middle of "The Bone that Blew" and the first set of dialogue is taken directly from the episode.

Also, I want to dedicate this to my friend and fellow shipper "miss_skate", whom I blame for getting me hooked on Cam/Hodgins in the first place ;). Enjoy!

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**Addiction**

Hodgins knows he's a genius. It's not that this is a fact up for debate. But despite the knowledge that he has an incredibly high intelligence quotient, he is extremely thrilled about his recent discovery. He's found something that could potentially be a major breakthrough in the case and he owes it all to Dr. Camille Saroyan. So when he sees her in the hallway on the way to the lab, he can't help but feel a little thrill at being able to share the information with her.

"Hey…so…you know that thing where you insist that all information goes through you?" Hodgins starts, barely able to contain his excitement.

"Yes. And I'm afraid I'm immovable on the subject," Cam informs him, just in case he's forgotten in the last couple hours.

Hodgins carries on, excitement building. "And you send out little emails summarizing the case so far?"

"Yes. Plus I check those e-mails to see if they've been opened." Cam looks slightly amused, though she still isn't sure what point Jack is trying to make.

"That's a very good system." Hodgins gazes up at Cam as she swipes her key card, face in a full out grin now.

"Thank you," she replies, unable to hide the surprise in her voice at his admission.

He follows Cam up the stairs and continues on. "Because if you weren't checking, I probably never would have read the e-mail that said Booth questioned the flying dermatologist."

Cam shoots him an amused look. "I hope you're not trying to get some free lotion," she states, and Hodgins tries really hard not to let the dirty part of his mind take over.

He takes this as evidence that he'd better start getting to the point. So he does. Hodgins tells her about his seemingly insignificant discovery of the tetraethyl lead and how it went out of production with catalytic converters and unleaded gas. He's also pretty sure that he calls her anal somewhere along the line, but it isn't anything new. So when Cam asks him whether or not the dermatologist owns a vintage car, he pulls out the zinger – that it is also a component of aviation gas, which happens to fit nicely with the fact that the dermatologist is also a pilot.

"Aviation gas?" Cam asks, a mix of uncertainty and amusement tingeing her voice.

And while Cam may still be doubtful, Hodgins is one hundred percent certain about this. "The victim's remains were incinerated by aviation gas." He can't seem to hold back the smug grin that pulls at his lips.

"I'll let Booth know," Cam says as she dials his number on her cell phone. "Hopefully she hasn't flown the coop while you were getting to the point," she adds. But the comment is made in jest, and Hodgins can't help but feel a sense of relief at the fact that they can do this now…be comfortable and make jokes and have fun without the tension that existed not too long ago. It makes him feel happy. And he hasn't been happy in a long time.

"Hey, I was just trying to be _nice_," he says, throwing out his arms in mock surrender. But he doesn't miss the glance she shoots back at him over her shoulder. And he can't quite hold back the smile that crosses his features.

/~/~/~/~/

Hodgins is visiting Zack. Usually he visits him once a week, but lately it's been more frequently. He isn't entirely sure why that is, but neither is complaining. Hodgins usually tells him about their current case and all the office gossip, and today is no different from the rest.

"So Dr. Saroyan suggested we go out to celebrate our victory. But of course Booth and Dr. Brennan had something they 'needed' to do," he pauses for a moment to do the air quotes that go along with his tone of voice. "Sweets had a date with possibly the world's most annoying person. Be glad you've never met her, man," Hodgins adds as a side bar. "Anyway, Angela had a…something or other…with Roxie. So Cam and I were on our own."

"And you were pleased about this," Zack asks, though it sounds more like a statement then a question.

"Of course not, man. Dr. Saroyan is a Nazi. A relatively attractive Nazi, but a Nazi all the same," Hodgins says with a grand flourish.

"You find Dr. Saroyan attractive?" Zack asks, and this time it sounds more like a question.

"Yeah, doesn't everyone?" Hodgins asks as if it's the most obvious thing in the world. "Doesn't mean she's not a Nazi."

"Interesting," Zack comments after a moments pause.

"Why?" Hodgins notices that his eyebrows are both raised.

"I've just noticed a marked increase in the amount of times you mention Dr. Saroyan in any given conversation over the past couple of months," Zack points out methodically, as if he's sharing factual details about a case. "Her name used to come up the odd time, but now you seem to be mentioning her during every conversation. It's simply a fact that I've come to take note of as of late," Zack notes in his observation tone. Hodgins decides that he really hates that tone sometimes.

"What are you talking about? You're losing it, man!" Hodgins cries, a little too adamantly and a little too forcefully for an innocent man.

Zack either fails to take note of his friend's outburst, or decides to ignore it. "Well, I haven't calculated the exact percentage, but I would say that there has been at least a 55% increase over the last several weeks. And you know how much I hate conjecture."

Hodgins opens his mouth to speak, but he isn't exactly sure what to say to that. Instead, he narrows his eyes slightly at his friend, who is seemingly oblivious to Hodgins' discomfort.

"What are you trying to imply?" he finally asks, and notes that his voice sounds calmer than he feels.

Zack gives him a look. One of his patented 'are you serious?' looks. Hodgins wonders why he seems to always be the recipient of looks these days.

"I wasn't implying anything. I was merely pointing out my observation to you," Zack says after a moment, voice dead pan as always. And if it was anyone else, anyone other then Zack, then he might not have believed it. But because it was Zack, and because Hodgins knows him so well, he knows that it's the truth.

Still, the observation itself gives him cause to stop and think. If Zack has noticed this change, only interacting with him once or twice a week, then it begs the question as to who else has taken note of the same thing.

"Thank you," Hodgins mutters after a moment, because he's not sure what else to say.

"Anyway, I should probably get going. But I'll bring by lunch on Sunday," he says, standing up and heading towards the exit.

He is almost out the door when Zack calls out to him. Hodgins turns to look at his incarcerated best friend, one eyebrow poised in question.

"I'm still not implying anything," Zack begins, just to make things clear right off the bat. "But if I were to objectively analyze the data, it might suggest that you had more than a passing interest in Dr. Saroyan."

A look of indignation crosses Hodgins' face, but Zack holds up both hands in surrender and speaks again before the man can even begin to form the words he wants to say.

"Subjectively, I would say that Dr. Saroyan is a sophisticated, intelligent, and attractive woman whom I assume would be productive at procreating. So anthropologically speaking, she would be an adequate choice for a partner."

Hodgins stares at Zack long and hard, before suddenly finding that he's grinning. He nods once at his friend before turning and leaving.

/~/~/~/~/

Lance Sweets is not happy when Hodgins comes racing into his office, almost thirty minutes after his scheduled appointment time.

"Dr. Hodgins, I thought our appointment began at 1:00 pm, not 1:30. If you're going to continue to disrespect me and my time then perhaps we should just discontinue these weekly sessions," Sweets says with a hint of resignation in his voice.

"I'm sorry, man. Something big came up and I had to go out in the field. Traffic was a friggin' nightmare on the way back. I'm lucky I made it back so quickly," Hodgins says as he removes his jacket and takes a seat on the couch.

Sweets stares blankly at Hodgins, so shocked by his apology and apparent willingness to actually participate in this session that he completely disregards the lateness of his client. He takes a seat across from Hodgins and does a quick check to make sure he has his notepad and pen nearby.

"So, what's up?" Sweets begins, hoping he isn't coming across too enthusiastically. "Would you like to discuss this new case?"

"Nah, it's nothing special. You'll hear about it soon enough anyway," Hodgins says.

Sweets nods in affirmation. "Okay. Then the floor is open to whatever you'd like to discuss."

The young doctor rests his forearms on his lap, allowing his hands to hang loosely and leaning forward to form an open posture. Sweets knows that this is supposed to be an inviting and non threatening way to address people. In theory, it is supposed to encourage the other person to feel comfortable and safe discussing anything at all, and he sincerely hopes that Hodgins will take the bait. However, every second that passes with no attempts at conversation starts to convince Lance Sweets that maybe posture doesn't make the slightest bit of difference. At first Hodgins just stares intently at something on the floor, but soon after he's playing around with the zipper on his jacket.

"So..." Sweets finally ventures after a few painfully long minutes, deciding that he's had enough of waiting around for Hodgins to start talking. "What's on your mind?"

Hodgins looks up, almost startled from the sudden noise in the quiet room. "Who says I have anything on my mind?" he asks.

"Well," Sweets begins, looking down at the watch on his left wrist, "You arrived here more than 5 minutes ago and all you've done is sit down, stare at the floor, and fiddle with your jacket. You're not the type of person to stick around if you have nothing to say, and you showed up late, even though you had a legitimate reason to miss this session. Plus, the fact that you're acting defensive in response to a simple question makes it pretty obvious that you do, indeed, have something on your mind. So you can either sit here for another 25 minutes and waste both of our time, or you can start telling me what you seem to want to tell me and maybe we can figure something out."

Hodgins glances up finally and shoots the doctor a glare. "You're right. I should just leave."

"No, no! Stop. Sit," Sweets commands.

"I have nothing to say to you."

"Yes you do. You do. Just give me a chance here. Contrary to what Agent Booth seems to think, I am very capable of providing you with what you need. But I can't help you if you don't allow me to even try." Sweets hopes he sounds convincing and persuasive. Though it's never worked with anyone before, so realistically why should it work now?

He is pleasantly surprised when Dr. Hodgins stops in his tracks and comes back to sit down on the couch across from him.

"Okay, so does this have to do with work, or your personal life?"

"What personal life?"

"So work," Sweets smiles. "Are you feeling overwhelmed by the workload? Are some of the cases impacting you emotionally?"

"Please," Hodgins scoffs. "I've seen the worst of the worst. I can handle pretty much anything."

"All right. So if it doesn't have to do with the actual work you're performing, then it must have to do with your coworkers."

Hodings says nothing but briefly meets the doctor's eyes. Sweets takes this as an indication that he is moving in the right direction.

"Are you experiencing a conflict with one of your coworkers?" The slightest hint of a frown makes its way onto Hodgins' face and suddenly Sweets has a revelation. It all makes sense now, if he thinks about the last several weeks.

"Never mind. I think I know what this is about," he tells his client.

"Do you." It's a statement. And he seems curious to hear what Sweets has to say.

"It does have to do with your coworkers, but only the _female_ ones. Am I right?" He sincerely tries to hold back his own enthusiasm, but isn't quite sure he's succeeding.

Hodgins stares back at him blankly, though for the briefest of moments another emotion sweeps over his face before it's gone again. And in that moment Sweets detects a hint of acknowledgement in his eyes, and the good doctor is pretty convinced that he's figured this whole thing out now.

He takes a deep breath and prepares to dive in.

"You're interested in Dr. Saroyan." Sweets states, not as a question but as fact.

Hodgins looks up at him, clear shock written across his features. "Wait, what? Why would you automatically assume I'm interested in someone? And why jump to Dr. Saroyan?" He's uncomfortable, figuratively squirming in his seat now, and he knows it but can't seem to hide this fact. "Why not Angela or Dr. Brennan?"

"Well, aside from the obvious answer that you seem to have effectively moved on from Angela, and everyone in the lab apart from Dr. Brennan herself seems to know that Agent Booth is in love with her, I've seen the way you look at her. Dr. Saroyan, I mean," Sweets admits and would feel almost sheepish upon unveiling his observations if he weren't so positive that he was right.

"Great!" Hodgins grumbles, throwing his arms up in defeat. "Does the whole world know?"

Sweets smiles. "It's my job to take note of these kinds of things, Dr. Hodgins," he says reassuringly.

"If that was supposed to make me feel better, you failed miserably."

"Look Dr. Hodgins. It's okay to have these feelings. They're perfectly normal," Sweets tells him with as much assurance as he can muster. "Considering the amount of time that you all spend in close quarters with one another, working late hours and interacting on a regular basis, it is perfectly logical and even expected that you would develop feelings of attraction and desire for a person that you spend the majority of your time with."

"Yeah, but it's far more complicated then that," Hodgins argues, completely failing to deny the truth behind Sweets' words.

"She's your boss, and that could make things awkward for you if others knew, or even worse – if you were together and then broke up. Your job could be threatened, the workplace milieu could be disrupted even more than it already is, and you would have to live with the knowledge that you had two relationships in the workplace completely fall apart." Sweets sincerely hopes that Hodgins doesn't punch him. He was not born to be a fighter.

"Well, when you put it that way, I should just jump off a bridge now and save myself the hassle," Hodgins grumbles with a frown.

"On the other hand, it could be the best and most satisfying relationship you've ever had. You could fall hopelessly in love and spend the rest of your life with Dr. Saroyan," Sweets says with a satisfied smile, and leans back in his chair.

"That seems awfully unrealistic," Hodgins states, crossing his arms. He's still frowning.

"Perhaps." Sweets leans forward again, this time pointing a finger directly at Dr. Jack Hodgins. "However it's equally as possible as the first scenario. But how will you know unless you give it a shot? You could be missing out on the greatest relationship of your life."

Hodgins and Sweets remain in contemplative silence for several moments before Hodgins stands up and grabs his jacket. He is almost out the door before he turns back to address Dr. Sweets.

"Maybe Booth is too hard on you," he admits. "You're not so bad after all. But if you tell him I said that, I'll deny it."

And with the faintest of smiles, he leaves, shutting the door behind him.

/~/~/~/~/

Hodgins finds that over the next couple of weeks he begins to invent reasons to be around or talk to Dr. Saroyan. With every passing day he craves her presence more and more, like a drug that he is becoming addicted to, and there is no escape from the power that has captivated him. The thought both excites and terrifies him. This is new ground for him. He hasn't been remotely interested in anyone since Angela. This is also his _boss_, and it's so painfully simple yet frustratingly complicated at the exact same time.

He is contemplating these very thoughts one evening when he feels a warm hand come to rest on his shoulder. Looking up he sees Dr. Saroyan standing beside him, radiant in a blue V-neck sweater and black pencil skirt.

"You look like you're a million miles away," she comments, removing her hand from his shoulder. He instantly misses the contact.

"Nah. More like a few hundred," he replies dryly, shooting her a sad smile.

"Anything you want to talk about?" she asks him, and he can see in her eyes that she genuinely means it. He is touched – truly touched by her offer. But now isn't the time for him to start confessing his feelings of interest…desire…and whatever else he's feeling with her, so he shakes his head.

"No, that's okay. But thank you." And he truly means it.

"Are you sure? I've been told I'm a pretty good listener," she says with a grin.

He nods, smiling fully now. "Yeah, I'm sure."

"Okay, well I'm heading home then. There's not much else I can do until Booth talks to the professor again anyway." She tosses him one more smile before swiping her card and walking down the steps of the lab.

As she starts to walk away, the words that Sweets spoke to him a week ago come flooding back, and Hodgins finds his mouth moving before he can stop himself.

"Dr. Saroyan?"

She stops and turns to face him again, one hand resting loosely on her hip and the other clutching her handbag.

Hodgins swallows hard and forces his voice to work. "I may not want to talk. But I wouldn't mind the company," he tells her, and it's the closest he can get right now to asking her out on a date.

"Here?"

He shakes his head. "No, I was thinking maybe dinner someplace. I know a really great little Italian place not too far from here, if you're interested?"

She doesn't even hesitate when she tells him, "Sure."

So he quickly packs up and grabs his things, joining Cam on the stairs.

"Lead the way," she tells him as they walk out the front door.

He is happy to oblige.


End file.
